


Consider The Bison

by AvocadoLove



Series: Consider Chaos [5]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Avatar Zuko (Avatar), Chaos, Gen, Protective Zuko (Avatar), Spirit Guides
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:54:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26684731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvocadoLove/pseuds/AvocadoLove
Summary: The ripple effect of the Chaos Avatar returning to to the material world is starting to show. As a result, the Gaang find themselves deep trouble.Meanwhile, Zuko discovers an unexpected ally, and uncovers a secret kept hidden for one-hundred years.
Relationships: Appa & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka & Zuko (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Zuko
Series: Consider Chaos [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1853452
Comments: 500
Kudos: 2173





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is a short prologue-type chapter. The meatier stuff is coming soon!

"Sokka," Katara gasped for air as she crouched to hide beside her brother between two tall shelves of books. The rows of shelves were pushed in close together—hopefully too narrow for an enraged owl spirit to reach them. But considering how its neck had elongated… "I take it back. You have the _worst_ taste in vacations."

Sokka winced, but he couldn't disagree with her.

The day had started out so promising, too.

Well, not _that_ promising. This whole mess had begun when they'd had to flee the Misty Palms Oasis.

The day after Jeong-Jeong left them, Iroh, the exact man who they’d been warned about showed up and wanted to "talk to the Avatar".

Of course, they'd run for their lives, the old man calling after them. Meanwhile, Aang had gone off and made a new friend in a professor from Ba Sing Se. Before Sokka knew it, Appa had taken off with the professor loaded in the saddle along with him, leaving Iroh in the dust.

Sokka stared down at Iroh, who’d been rapidly receding into the distance, and felt a twinge of guilt. One day he would have to face the man, tell him they’d left his murderous wayward nephew out in a North Pole blizzard, and make it right. But that day was not when his baby sister and the world’s last hope to stop the war was within firing range.

Professor Zei was a weird one, but Sokka sensed an opportunity to get back on track to make plans for the war. It started with needing a map of the Fire Nation, it ended with learning about a long lost Spirit Library.

"I've decided on my mini-vacation," Sokka had announced dramatically. "We're going to the library!”

A couple of innocent missteps later—seriously, maybe Sokka was just interested in astronomy. Way to jump to (correct) conclusions, Mr. Owl—and that's what led them to this particular pickle.

The library began to rumble around them. Sokka and Katara looked at each other, wide-eyed. At that moment, Aang and Haru came around the corner, both looking frightened.

"Wan Shi Tong is sinking the library," Haru exclaimed. “We’ll be trapped!”

"What?" Sokka glanced up. Sure enough, the barely visible skylights in the high spire above were growing dark, covered over by sand. Somewhere up there, Appa waited for them. But it wasn’t like the big guy could dig them out.

Aang looked equally scared. "He said he's taking it back to the spirit world.”

“What do we do?” Katara asked.

No one had an answer.

Distantly, the librarian’s warped, birdlike cry echoed through the halls.

* * *

Zuko woke a few hours before dawn. His dreams had been troubled and vague. Someone had been screaming for help, but it was as if the voice had been muffled by a dozen layers of muslin cloth. In his dream, Zuko had searched and searched, but didn't understand who was calling out for him, why, or how he was supposed to help.

Rubbing at his good eye, he sat up.

Toph and Yugoda had made their sleeping pallets on the other side of the camp fire. Their snores sounded like dueling saws.

Zuko wondered if all women snored like that or if he had just gotten lucky in with hisbending masters.

Well, there was no way he was getting back to sleep with that racket. Also, he had some rare time to himself. He took a deep breath and slowly, carefully, crawled out of his sleeping pack and walked to their nearby stream where they had made their campsite for the evening.

According to a map they had purchased from nearby traders, they were close to Serpent’s Pass. The land had finally shifted from parched desert to thin, weedy forest. Water was more abundant, as was game.

Yugoda knew how to make a tasty rabbit-fish stew.

Zuko sat by the stream, cast a guilty look over his shoulder to make sure both women were still asleep—judging by the sheer amount of noise, they were.

Then he dipped his hands in the water and brought out a glowing orb.

He stared at it for a moment, took a shaky breath, and then carefully pressed the glowing water to the left side of his face.

Just as he feared, he felt no disharmony within the scar tissue. The burn had healed ugly and thick, but it had _healed_. There was nothing more to be done.

He let the healing go, and the water ran from his fingers back into the stream.

He’d had to give it a shot, but the pain of disappointment made him wish that he hadn't tried at all.

A distant broken twig snapped him out of his self-pity. Zuko whirled around and glared at the dark forest ahead of him.

"Who's out there?" he demanded, embarrassed to be caught out trying to heal his own face. Fire ignited in his palm, throwing the forest into deeper shadows. "Show yourself!"

There was no reply.

Well, not many people could hide from him. Not anymore.

Zuko had gone barefoot since he first started learning under Toph. Their funds were limited, and he had not bothered to purchase any footwear from passing traders. However, the stream cut deep through the soil and messed with his earthsense. He waded across it and closed his eyes as he stepped to the other side.

There was a cave just ahead. A large one. How had he and Toph missed before? And inside the cave… Six points of very heavily weighted pressure warped the earth.

What kind of animal had six legs?

Wait.

His eyes widened and fire flared in his palm. Stepping forward, he heard a deep bass growl from within the cave. Zuko squinted and could just barely make out the outline of a very large, broad muzzle and blocky teeth from under lips lifted in a snarl.

Zuko’s jaw dropped. “Avatar Aang's bison?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Be careful," Zuko said. "I think the bison is hurt. It hasn't come out of the cave yet.”

Dawn had just broken over the horizon, but the sunlight hadn't penetrated the tree cover. That meant nothing to Toph, but Yugoda squinted uncertainly ahead. "And you're certain this is the other Avatar's bison?"

“Sky bison have been extinct for a hundred years," Zuko said. “And I think he hates me, so yes."

Yugoda gave him an arch look that quite clearly said she might be old, and a little foggy from just waking up, but he had better watch his tongue.

"Sorry," he muttered.

Toph, in her typical way, stomped up and stopped short of the cave. "Hey, Appa. Remember me?"

The answer was a low growl.

"Guess so.” Toph turned to the others. "So what's the plan, Turtleduck?"

Zuko frowned. Before meeting Vaatu, he would have been overjoyed to find the Avatar's bison. It meant Aang was nearby and he had another chance to capture and bring him back to the Fire Nation in chains.

Now that was no longer his goal a tiny part of him wondered if this was really his problem. It wasn't his fault that the other Avatar had lost his animal companion.

But he was a healer now. Even if he wasn't... he couldn't just walk away.

"Maybe we can coax it—him—out. I'll find some berries or something."

Berry bushes weren't hard to find in this part of the forest. There was a cluster a little way up the stream. He didn't know if they were safe for the bison to eat, but figured it wouldn't eat anything harmful to itself. Zuko tore off a couple branches and came back.

Yugoda and Toph were both in front of the cave, still trying to sweet-talk the animal out. Appa had crouched, horns down, and not moved an inch.

"Hey, Appa, right?" Zuko held up his branches, laden with berries. "I know you don't like me much, but I got something for you—Whoa!"

The bison stuck his nose out of the cave and inhaled. Suddenly, Zuko found the berry branches sucked out of his hands, where they landed at the bison's feet. They disappeared into his giant mouth before Appa backed away into the tunnel again.

Zuko narrowed his eyes. "That's the way you want to play it? Fine." He stomped off.

When he returned, it was with three more branches loaded down with more berries. Appa tried his trick again, and this time, Zuko doggedly held on.

That was when he realized he didn't think his plan all the way through, and found himself being sucked straight towards the bison's mouth.

At the last second, Zuko shoved the branches between teeth each as big as his head and danced to the side, into the cave. Appa made a muffed bellow, clearly torn between ravenously chewing and crushing the irritating human who had scared him so many times with fire.

"No, stop! I'm not here to hurt you, stupid beast!"

There wasn't a lot of room in the cave and he had to duck partially under Appa to avoid being crushed between his body and the stone wall.

He lost his balance and fell against the bison — there was a lot of fur, but then his hand slapped against a patch of too-hot skin. 

Appa bellowed again—this time in pain—and flinched back, giving Zuko room.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" He held up his hands and it took everything not to cringe as Appa swung his head around. 

The bison huffed.

"Zuko?" Yugoda called. "Are you okay in there?"

"I think he's been burned," Zuko called back.

"Then we need to coax him to the stream. An animal this size can't be healed with a bucket alone."

"Do you hear that?" Zuko asked the bison. "We're trying to help you."

Nothing.

"Ugh, what was it the other Avatar said to get you to move? Yin-yin? Yie-yie? Yip-yip?”

Nothing.

"You can't understand a word I'm saying, can you?" Zuko asked flatly.

Suddenly Toph's voice broke in from the mouth of the cave. "Appa, I got some more berries for you."

She must have said the magic words. Appa swung his great head towards her and tried once more to suck in the berries with airbending. However, Toph had decided to stay well back out of air-sucking range.

Appa lowed plaintively. He swung his head around to look at Zuko one more time and... were those thoughts churning behind his eyes?

Then slowly, ponderously, Appa stepped out of the cave. Toph dropped one of the branches and backed away, leading him forward. The stream was only a few dozen feet away.

In full daylight, the extent of the bison’s injuries became clearer.

"He's been burned,” Yugoda murmured. “I suspect the hair is hiding the worst of it."

That was true, but what was visible was ugly. Appa’s hair had been singed in precise lines as if by narrow fire bolts, or fire whips. He also limped on one of his forelegs. 

Yugoda took charge. "Toph, keep bringing those berries, since he seems to be partial to them. I suspect he'll be a little less moody once the healing begins.” There's my good boy." Her voice dropped an octave or two as she approached Appa from the front, hands held out. "We're here to help."

Appa eyed her but seemed to decide she wasn't a threat for now. He munched contentedly on his berries.

"Zuko." Yugoda gestured for him to join her. "Hold up this tuft of hair out of the way to allow me to work. Then it will be your turn. Healing animals is traditional for every apprentice."

He nodded, carefully breathing through his mouth so he didn’t catch the scent of burned hair.

"He is going to be okay?" Toph asked, for once sounding her age.

"He will be once we're done," Yugoda replied stoutly. "Get more berries, girl!"

For once, Toph had no sarcastic reply. She jogged off toward the berry bushes.

Yugoda and Zuko exchanged a look.

"He's been deliberately burned," he said, low, knowing how good Toph's hearing was.

She nodded. "Most seem to be surface wounds, meant to cause pain than injury. And here." She lifted a patch of white fur around the equivalent of Appa's ankle. The skin was raw and weeping red under a ring of metal. One broken link still hung free from the lock. “This poor creature's been chained."

Zuko felt sick. Yes, he had tried to capture the Avatar, but he would have never...

 _Or would I have?_ he thought. It’s not like the bison could fit down below in ship's storage, which meant it would need to be secured to the deck.

He leaned down to read the makers stamp. “Says it’s from Li’s Circus.” He sat back, thinking. “If Avatar Aang’s bison was captured in a circus…”

Yugoda nodded sadly. "That boy is in trouble, more likely than not."

She bent and grabbed a glowing orb of water from the stream. Zuko hurriedly did the same.

Appa made a low grunting sound, and Zuko glanced up to see him watching them with a suspicious eye.

"Yes, I can waterbend," he said. "Get over it."

Then, following Yugoda's example, he pressed the healing water to the first of the wounds.

It took until mid-afternoon to address everything. Yugoda was correct—none of the burns were particularly complicated, and may have healed on their own, albeit with scarring. The waterbending healing hastened the process to leave fresh whole skin. The scarring was minimal—much less worse than the flesh on Zuko’s face.

Once Appa’s hair grew over the worst of it, no one would be able to tell.

Yugoda was no expert in combat, but she had a lifetime of waterbending tricks up her sleeve. She showed Zuko how to rapidly freeze and melt water inside the manacle to weaken the lock. After it was off, Toph took it in hand and bent the entire thing into a useless ball which she kicked into the forest. Then she went out and collected more berry branches, tree branches, and cut grass by the arm-full until finally Appa was sated.

He wallowed in the shallow stream and watched the healers work, flapping his great paddle tail when they pressed cool water to a particularly troublesome burn.

At the end, Yugoda was exhausted. Zuko, who had more reserves thanks to being an Avatar, sighed and reluctantly earthbent the bedrock of the stream into a wider pool. It soon collected water to the top.

He gestured to it. "Get in, Appa. You need a bath. You stink."

He had no idea how much the animal understood. But to his surprise, Appa reluctantly got to his feet, and flopped down again in the pool. He displaced most of the water inside, but the stream rapidly filled it in again.

Zuko glanced at Toph who was laying a little upstream, her toes in the cool water. "Want to give me a hand?"

"Nah. You look like you're doing fine on your own."

"I hate you," he said flatly and she cackled.

He had no comb fit for a bison, so he used a sharp knife to cut the worst of the mats out of Appa’s hair. He also trimmed around the visible scorch marks, remembering how the scent of burned hair would make him gag for months after his Agni Kai. It would be worse for an animal who used its nose. One by one, the burned ends were carried away down the river.   
Appa watched him, and maybe it was imagination (or a desperate wish considering how much work he'd put into making the animal was comfortable) but he seemed calmer than before.

As soon as Zuko stepped on the bank, the bison licked him in one long swipe from foot to head.

“Ugh!” Zuko tried to bat him away, but it was about as effective as pushing back—well—a ten-ton creature. A second swipe of Appa’s tongue made his hair stick up on end.

“I believe you have made a friend,” Yugoda said, not bothering to hide a smile.

* * *

"What now?" Toph asked in her usual blunt way a couple hours later as they sat around eating hardtack and jerky. Yugoda had been much too worn out to cook, and no one trusted Toph to make dinner after the incident that shall-not-be-spoken-of.

Zuko shrugged and glanced over at Appa. The bison had left the water at sunset and sat just outside the border of the firelight. He could see the gleam of its eyes.

"I suppose it is up to Appa,” Yugoda said. "Now that his wounds are healed, he is free to fly away to find his friend.”

"If he knows where to look,” Zuko said.

"Or Aang will find him.” Toph flexed all her toes with a pop that made Zuko and Yugoda cringe. "That will be festive."

Zuko shook his head. "Avatar Aang would never leave his pet behind or let it get in such terrible condition."

There was a pause. Toph then said, “So you think the Fire Nation…?”

"No," Zuko said. "We would have heard. News like that travels fast."

"We're in the middle of the Earth Kingdom."

"Doesn't matter. It's happened before. I... broke him out of a stronghold once, back when I was trying to capture him, myself," Zuko admitted. "Trust me. News of the Avatar’s capture has wings."

Toph relaxed but still looked troubled. Zuko was painfully reminded that she'd known Aang and the two other Water Tribe annoyances. Did she consider them friends? With Toph, it was hard to tell.

Yugoda sighed. “Well, this large fellow isn't talking. The best thing we can do is have a good night’s sleep. Things often become clearer in the morning."

"You sound like my uncle," Zuko grumbled.

She aimed a smile at him. "Who is a very wise man, I'm sure."

“Getting some shut-eye sounds good to me," Toph said.

Zuko had to reluctantly agree. He was tired. Helping to heal such a large animal had shaken the dust from his bones, as Toph would have said. But he couldn’t quite rest yet. 

"I'll take the first watch," he said.

Toph cocked her head. ”Since when do we take watches?"

"Since something unknown happened to the other Avatar, and he might be looking for his companion."

Yugoda hummed. "Fair point. Wake me when you become tired." Then she trundled off to her own sleeping bag.

Zuko settled himself in front of the campfire, meditating.

He didn't realize he was asleep until he started dreaming.

* * *

It was one of those dreams where he knew he was asleep. He found himself in a place he had never seen before--like the dragon catacombs but with high shelves loaded with scrolls and books.

A high call like a hunting bird echoed through the corridor. It sounded close and very large. Unnamed, primal fear shot ice through his veins. 

"He's coming this way!"

Zuko turned to see the Water Tribe boy who always traveled with Aang. What was his name? Oh, right. Sokka. 

Sokka was crouched down, his back to Zuko, facing the direction the sound came from.

As Zuko watched, Sokka gestured for another boy who wore green robes and a truly unfortunate mustache to dart around the corner between another row. It seemed as if they were sneaking somewhere, and desperately not trying to be caught.

"What's going on?" Zuko demanded.

Sokka whirled in place, the sharp edge of his boomerang out as if to stab. At the sight of him, he froze, blue eyes wide.

"Zuko?"

* * *

Zuko woke with a snort. The fire had guttered low, and as usual, the women were playing dueling tsungi horns with their snores.

He had fallen asleep, but that dream...

 _That was no dream_ , Vaatu said.

“What was it?”

_You were in touch with the spirit realm._

“I don't understand.” 

_While you are in the stage between wake and sleep your spirit is more in tune with the universe. You reached out. Someone or something reached back._

Zuko remembered that eerie haunting bird call cry. “That wasn't a bird, was it?”

_I doubt it._

“Sokka is a companion to Aang... how much would you bet that idiot upset the spirits, and I'm feeling the backlash?”

Vaatu paused. _That is a perceptive guess, Vessel._

“Yeah, well my uncle always spoke of the spirits. I guess I picked up a few things.” He rubbed at his bad eye, feeling a headache blooming. Then he glanced across the fire at the hulking form of Appa. “No wonder Avatar Aang hasn’t bothered to come back for his bison. He’s too busy trying to calm down an angry spirit.” Then another thought came to him. “If the spirit world was able to reach me, could I reach back?”

_Why?_

“I need to tell Avatar Aang where to find his bison,” Zuko said and felt his lips curl into a smile. “And I want him to know it was me who healed him. I want him honor-bound in my debt.”

 _Honor_ , Vaatu sighed. _But it is not an entirely stupid plan._

“So I can do it?”

_With my help. Go to the bison._

Rising, Zuko walked over to Appa and clucked his tongue. Appa blinked awake and lowed. 

“Shh!” Zuko hissed. 

Too late. The girls stirred.

"What's going on?" Toph asked, waking up and immediately picking her nose. 

Yugoda shuddered and gestured to the stream to wet a bit of cloth. She handed it to Toph to blow out her nose, instead.

Zuko looked at Appa. “You woke them on purpose.”

To his shock, the bison reached over and licked him from foot to head. "Ugh! Stop doing that!”

In a few moments, Yugoda and Toph were at his side. 

Yugoda asked, “What are you up to, student?”

"Nothing I thought... it's avatar stuff.” He sighed. "I might be able to locate the other Avatar through his bison."

Yugoda raised her eyebrows, looking intrigued. 

"Well?" Toph said. "What are you waiting for?"

“Vaatu?” Zuko asked.

_You will have to be in physical contact with the animal._

Which put him well within licking range. Zuko sighed and stepped forward, avoiding a second swipe of the tongue, he raised both hands to scratch between the bison’s horns. "There we go, Appa. You want to find Aang again, right?"

The bison leaned into the caress which was... alarming. He was a heavy creature. Zuko had to press back with his full weight to keep standing. Appa closed his eyes in pleasure.

 _This is ridiculous_ , Zuko thought. _How can the bison give me this much trust? I chased him and his friends around for months. For all he knows, I could be the bad guy!_

… But fully brushed out and washed, Appa’s fur was ridiculously soft.

He was not enjoying scratching this soft, fluffy, trusting creature. He was _not_.

 _Close your eyes, and do not fight me_ , Vaatu said, _I will be opening up your crown chakra, which is where you receive cosmic energy._

Zuko tensed. “Why?"

 _Because the greatest illusion in this world, other than death, is separation_ , Vaatu said impatiently.

“That doesn’t—“ Before he could finish with ‘make sense’ and Zuko felt warmth explode over the top of his head.

Immediately, the world around him was gone. For a dizzying moment, he was certain he stood in a vast never-ending field of glittering stars. 

No, they were not stars. There were what looked like threads connecting each one. 

Zuko stood in a vastly complex web, or tapestry which extended in three dimensions. His mind spun with confusion. He felt like he had when Vaatu had first shown him the vision of the wildflowers—as if there was too much knowledge for his human brain to take in, much less comprehend. 

“What… What is this?" he asked

 _The web of connections within the world. What does it look like?_ Vaatu grumped. 

Connections? Fire Nation folklore told of red strings of fate which supposedly tied two lovers, but… was this the same?

Looking closer, Zuko saw that the brightly points in the darkness were people. Some glittered like star-bright diamonds, but some were black like embers that had burned out into coals. 

There were many, many of the dark ones—the connections curled into ash.

“How do I know so many dead people?”

Vaatu chuckled darkly in his mind. _These are not your connections my self-centered vessel. These are the bison’s._

And it was then that Zuko realized his hands still rested on Appa’s head. 

With that, he finally realized that the vast web of connections did not lead back to him at all. They were all connected to the vast point of life and light that was the bison standing before him.

Which meant the darkness—All of those dark points…

 _Yes_ , Vaatu never sounded exactly sad, but his mental tone was filled with regret. _The Air Nomads._

Zuko wasn’t staring at points of stars against a black emptiness. It was bits of light against a vast field of death.

Zuko had always known of Fire Lord Sozin’s preemptive strike against the Air Nomads — what Uncle called the Air Nomad genocide. It was one thing to learn about in school, or even see the ruins of old, broken Air Temples. 

It was quite another to take in these vast points of light, all the people that Appa had once known and made some connection with— now dark and dead. Now he saw the travesty of what Fire Lord Sozin had done.

Killing all those people had been wrong.

It wasn’t the first time he had thought it, but it was the first time he allowed himself to feel it. 

Zuko forced himself to look and take in the dark points until his eyes burned. Until it was stamped on his heart. Finally, he looked away. This wasn't why he was here.

“Which one is the other Avatar?” he asked.

_He will be the bison’s brightest connection, of course. Follow your own connection._

Zuko glanced down and saw his own threat, surprisingly strong, linked from his chest to that of the bison. There were other two other nearby points of light, too. Toph and Yugoda. Well, it was nice to see that the bison cared.

Now he was looking for it, it was easy to find the largest point of light—the connection more like a thick rope than a thin line. Two other connections sat in close orbit to it. The other Avatar and his Water Tribe friends.

But these were not bright and shining, or dead like the Air Nomads. They were smoky gray.

Tentatively, Zuko poked at the Avatar’s connection. His fingers trailed through it like smoke.

 _Interesting_ , Vaatu said.

“What does it mean?”

_That Raava’s vessel is not wholly within this world._

“And what does that mean?” Then he stopped, remembering his dream. “Aang didn’t just anger the spirits, he got himself lost the spirit world, didn't he?" Zuko glanced at the two other connections near the Avatar. “And he dragged his friends along with him."

_So it would seem._

… Well, that explained why in the world Avatar Aang had abandoned his sky bison to be scooped up by the circus.

As Zuko pondered this, his gaze traced back to another cluster of light. They were oddly positioned—connected to Appa only through the dead points. That made no sense. Who had been once close to the Air Nomads, and yet could still be alive a hundred years later? 

Curious, Zuko reached for them.

A snap of energy raced through him—up his arm, though his body, and down to his own contact with Appa.

Appa jerked and tossed his head. Zuko fell back. The vast field of connection fell away.

Appa bellowed. 

“Whoa!” Zuko held out his hands. “Easy, Appa. It’s just me.”

The bison either didn’t hear him, or didn’t care. His eyes were so wide that the whites showed around them.

Zuko backed away so fast he ran into Toph and Yugoda, knocking them all down. 

Instantly, Toph leapt back to her feet, fists in a ready position, instantly ready to fight. “What’s wrong with Appa? Does he sense danger?”

Yugoda was much slower to rise, wincing as she pressed a hand to her lower back. “What’s happened?”

“What did you do?” Toph said. Apparently Zuko hadn’t answered quick enough for her taste.

“I don’t know!” Zuko yelled, standing. “I just—“ He stopped.

The bison turned in place. He seemed frantic now, full of energy as he glanced up at the starry sky.

“He's going to take off!” Zuko said, torn between jumping away and jumping on for the ride.  
But he already knew what he must do. 

“Hurry! Get up on his back. I don’t think he’ll wait.”

Yugoda looked alarmed. “But we haven’t packed—“

Toph stomped and the earth rippled under them all, launching them up. Her aim was perfect. They hit the bison’s back. Zuko grabbed onto Toph and Yugoda, hauling them firmly over the middle, over the bison’s spine. There was no bison saddle to keep them aboard. “Grab onto his fur!”

With a great heave, Appa launched upward.

Toph let out a short scream—he was certain the world had just got dark around her. Luckily, Appa’s back was wide and his fluffy fur provided lots of handholds.

“Where are we going?" Yugoda demanded.

“I don't know. Just hold on!” The cold night air whistled past them. Zuko ducked his head against it and hoped wherever Appa was flying, it was not far.

* * *

Several hours later, Zuko had to admit he had made a mistake.

The sun had risen, showing vast blue ocean underneath them. The bison was charging headlong through the sky without hesitation or pause. He was so incredibly high up that a fall would mean certain death.

Zuko had crawled hand-over-hand to the bison’s head to see if he could convince him to turn around. Maybe if he grabbed a horn or something? But Appa had bellowed and shaken his head, nearly dislodging Zuko completely. Giving up, he crawled back to Toph and Yugoda.

“I can’t get this thing to turn around,” Zuko growled. “I don’t know where he’s taking us, but he’s determined to get there.”

“So let me get this straight,” Toph started in a tone that Zuko knew meant trouble.

“Toph—“

“You said you poked something in Appa’s head—“

“It was more like a mystical plane of existence,” he muttered.

“—And now the idea to go there is locked in his bison brain?”

“… Probably?”

“And you are certain he is not taking us to the other Avatar?” Yugoda asked calmly.

Zuko shook his head. “No, wherever Avatar Aang is… he’s not reachable.”

“Well,” she patted Zuko’s hand before returning her grip to the bison’s fur. “Wherever we are headed, Appa certainly believes it is important.”

“Why couldn’t it be on the ground?” Toph groaned. “He has six legs. Couldn’t he walk?”

Zuko didn’t have an answer, other roll his eyes. “I am so happy I spent all that time returning him to health yesterday…”

* * *

Thankfully the flight was smooth and, with two people on either side, the person in the middle could relax and give their aching hands a rest.

Zuko insisted that Toph and Yugoda take turns being in the middle. He was much too wired to relax.

Gazing down at the ocean, he tried to gauge how fast the bison was traveling. They were headed east, of course. But to fly too far east meant eventually they would hit the Western Fire Islands. 

That would be… bad. 

Finally, as the sun began to sink into the sky, Zuko spotted a smudge along the horizon. It resolved quickly into an island.

Appa let out a bellow. Zuko’s ears popped as they lost altitude.

“I think we’re landing!” Zuko called.

“Yes, but where?" From Yugoda’s tight expression, she already knew.

He shook his head. “I can't tell what island this is.” He added grimly, “Be ready to fight."

It wasn't Caldera Island, home of the Palace, but surely any island within the Fire Nation’s archipelago would be guarded.

Yugoda looked grim. Toph, though she clutched Appa’s fur tightly, seemed steady.

The bison didn't seem to understand the concept of stealth. He took his time spilling air, and glided to land before a giant temple. Even before he landed, bells had begun to ring, and men in women in deep red robes streamed out of the temple to watch.

“That’s not good,” Zuko muttered.

“Who are they?” Yugoda asked.

“Those are Fire Sages. Most of them will be firebenders, and all of them will be loyal to the Fire Lord.”

“Traditionally, those who took care of the temples looked to the Avatar, first."

Zuko shook his head. “Fire Lord Sozin purged those sages in the same strike when he attacked the Air Temples. All who were left are loyal to the crown.”

“Besides,” Toph said. “I think any sages who were rebellious would be looking towards Aang, not Zuko.”

“That too," he said. “And there’s no point lying about who I am… I have a recognizable face.”

He fully expected fireballs to be launched at them as soon as they were within range, but the Fire Sages simply held their ground, watching as Appa landed. There was mild surprise and disbelief on their faces, but not enough for Zuko's taste.

Zuko slid off the moment Appa reached ground. His legs felt like jelly, but he made himself stand up straight and absently brushed some fur off his green Earth Kingdom tunic. Yugoda and Toph slid down to join him.

He imagined they made quite a ragtag team: An old Water Tribe woman, a blind girl, and their banished prince, scruffy, barefoot, and dressed in Earth Kingdom green and brown.

One of the sages stepped forward. She was older than Yugoda, and judging from her tall hat, she held a position of authority.

“Prince Zuko," she said warily. “Our last message hawk from the Fire Lord stated you were banished and charged not to set foot on Fire Nation soil again on pain of death.”

There was a pointed pause.

Strange. How many times had he heard those words in the past? But this was the first time he didn’t feel so much of a flicker of anger and regret.

As Zuko was weighing if he should tell them the truth—or a version of it, Toph spoke in a low tone. “Their hearts are beating like a bunch of jackrabbit-mice. I think you freak them out."

Zuko nodded to her and turned back to the sages. “My banishment was to be lifted when I captured the Avatar.”

But the Old Sage was not listening. One of the others had bent to whisper frantically in her ear. She held up her hand to stop him and raised her voice to call out. “How did you know to bring this bison to our island?”

“We are seeking Avatar Aang. This is his animal companion. Do you have him here?"

The other sages looked at each other, unsure and visibly worried.

“No, highness,” a man said.

Well, it had been a long-shot.

Suddenly Appa bellowed and charged forward. The sages scattered as he charged up the wide temple stairs and through the main gilded gates.

Zuko shot his friends a startled look, and they rushed after him. Several of the sages tried to step in his path, but they were too wary to be effective. To touch a royal without permission was a capital crime. 

Zuko, Toph, and Yugoda easily pushed through without the use of bending and followed Appa up the stairs.

The top platform looked down directly to a lush, steep valley. That’s when Zuko realized it wasn’t a temple at all. It was… a giant paddock. The bottom of the valley was thick with rich green grasslands, surrounded by tall posts on top the valley walls. Thick wire was strung from post to post in a complex web. And feeding leisurely in the grass were dozens of white and brown sky bison.

“Are my feet seeing what your eyes are seeing?" Toph demanded.

Zuko stared, slack-jawed.

Suddenly he understood the strange cluster of lights, of connection, he had seen.

“This is amazing," Yugoda said. “We thought wild sky bison were all extinct.”

“No," said the voice of a Fire Sage. She had come up from behind them and looked over the scene with defiant eyes. “My order of sages has kept a herd of sky bison secret and safe for since the start of the war.”

Down below, bison heads rose as Appa floated down, deftly maneuvering between a gap in the wire webbing, to join the other bison. A large herd matron trotted over to sniff Appa, bumping horns in greeting, before she turned and started munching again at the grass. Other bison took that as a go-ahead to gather around Appa, to sniff and nudge him in welcome.

“This is his family,” Zuko’s voice was thick with emotion. “Or… decedents of his family.”

“Yes,” the Old Sage said. “You have brought this sky bison home.”

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my Tumblr for Avatar stuff, memes, and fanfic rambling.  
> awesomeavocadolove.tumblr.com


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